Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-08-06

was ever in "a bad streak of luck with
pack horses. Shortly after the above men
toned rise and fall in beef out Of those pan
nieTs, | was employed by trader on the river
al Hawkins lar 20 carry a load Of provisions
t. the miners working on the quartz rock River
canyon, some three miles distant up river. Ii
was n big load and strapped on a cross jack
saddle. and that 10 a beast Of a mean, vicious
and depraved character. Mind. now, You
d'nt let hun get ahead of you, were the
traders last words Us he put the halter in nv
hands. Well, a quarter of nile from the
store, as We were rounding a steep bit of the
mountain, tue trail being only wide enough
for one person to pass at a time, the animal
did force himsalf almost over HE, got ahead
of me. twitclied the rope out of my band and
started or on dead run The first things
that busted were the fifty pound sacks of
-four: next the potatoes broke loose. The -four
went up like a cloud in the air with his mad
9allo2ng, and could see the potatoes rising
and falling through the -four. Ii looked like
a travelling SHOW storm. The trail was white
With flour for a quarter of u mile, and this
wGIteueSS remained all summer, and until the
fall rains washed IL away. As | ran believing
inter the horse. noticed fluid stains on the
nov red and white pathway COM
pound of -four and Pulverized red soil This
was the whisky. The two gallon demijohn
had broken. So were some SO worth of pro-
visions retailed out on that trail for a mile
and half. When / managed to catch the
brute the pack saddle WAS empty. led him
back TO the Hawkins Bar store with few
potatoes in my hands that had gathered up,
and told tie boss how that load had been
delivered. The blue smoke of an extra dis
cl,rrge of profanity did not clear away from
that store for a full hour. The next
time, on sending duplicate load
Of the one l had lost, there was
sent a man who would not let that horse get
ahead OF him But | always attributed the
catastrophe TO yellow ::jacket" that stung
the animal on the flank. | did not see the
yellow jacket do this. l did not see any yell
low jacket But l believed in him for all
that No one else did The boys" called me
The Md Expressmsn of the Tuolumne"
for months after.
But packing is a science. 1t takes time
and wears and experience TO adj Just and bal
ance properly 30 or 80 pounds Of -four,
bacon, potatoes and other articles on an ami
mails back. In those early days this
was the general method Of transpor-
tati0n after leaving the few main
roads Travelled by vehicles. Down, down,
down those long. steep mountain sides which
bnr,lerei the American Feather, Mokelumne,
CtaY eraS. Stanislaus, Tuolumne and many
mother roaring. foaming, turbulent streams
where gold was found. nor wagon could roll
uIl,.s, It rolled much farther than was de
sit aide Duiy the mule with his load could
Ieac., the many little camps Of those days,
nestled In cam oms inclOSei 10y walls 80 steep
they shut cut the summer sun 10y IN the
afternoon.
The mule is often perverse creature as to
hacking. though | can't find it in my heart
T. blame him for rebslling in some way
u-aImSt the slavery OF burdens put upon him
during his entire earthly existence. But
when he feels the pack ropes being hauled
taut around has body, fastening the load to his
back und the packers right boot is pressed
hard against his side ia order 10 give that
packer "a better purchase" IN hauling, he
.tia mule often commences to sweil as wei
a. grunt and grsan and while As II he were
in great suffering und this he keeps up dur
ing the whole performance. OF "hlch tue
PRINCIPAL and to the mule the desired
result Is that be collaUses leu MN